Young Seth was struggling to get out of the car and help his mother as the twins laughed. No one saw Matthew run out of the pool area and tackle Bill to the ground.
Matthew’s clothes were nearly burnt off. He was soaking wet, but otherwise he seemed unharmed—he’d healed himself, just like Payne.
He got a few punches in before Bill struck back with a fist that crackled with electricity. Once Matthew stumbled, Bill followed that blow with a barrage of lightning.
Matthew screamed, and went down again.
“Hey,” Jake looked like he was pouting. “I set him on fire. What happened?”
Bill slapped the back of Jake’s head in answer.
“Good job, idiot. Well, his power’s going to be an issue. Get him tied up while he’s out. I’ll keep the kid company.”
Bill pulled Seth out of the car, and held young Seth still as he struggled to get to his mother.
Jack and Jake came back to Bill’s side.
“What now?” Jack asked. “We were only supposed to bring back the little ones so Vicky could choose who to kill and who to keep.”
Behind them, Jean was awake, and pleading for them to let her and Seth go. Bill sent a vicious spark toward her, which seemed to take the breath out of her.
“Not sure how many there are left,” Bill said, as if they hadn’t been interrupted. “Heard Paul got carried away and took out nearly all of them in one shot. Lost control of his tornado.”
Jake and Jack laughed.
“Man,” Jake said, “that must have been cool.”
“Yeah?” Bill countered. “I don’t think Paul thought it was cool. He got hit by flying debris.”
Jake and Jack didn’t seem overly concerned about their family member, let alone that there had just been a mass murder.
“Paul was always a dweeb,” Jake looked bored. “Point is, he wiped a bunch of Connors off the face of the Earth. You want me to toast these two?”
Bill looked like he was considering letting Jake do that, despite Jean’s pleading that they spare her son. Bill handed young Seth off to one of the twins, and moved towards Seth’s mother.
“Vicky wants this one,” Bill said, nodding toward Seth. “He’s young and his power is passive. He was on her list of possibilities. And thanks to Paul, any of the others on the list are dead. So keep him alive.”
“And him?” Jack jerked a thumb towards Matthew, who was tied up and lying on the ground. He had healed once again, and was struggling to get up to aid his aunt and cousin.
“It’s Vicky’s call,” Bill said, watching him with a bored expression. “Right now, we keep him alive.”
Bill walked over to young Seth. Next to me, my Seth glared at him. Hatred poured out of him.
“Please,” Jean was still trying to reason with them. “Bill, we never hurt you. We never did anything to your family. We tried to be friends with you. That’s all we wanted.”
Bill sent a shock into her belly. I tried not to think of the unborn child that Jean was carrying. Oh, god.
“You sadistic son of a...” Sapphire moved forward towards Bill, as if she’d forgotten for a moment that this was just a memory. Her hands balled into fists, she looked ready to kill.
“Shut up,” he told her. “Don’t you think we knew that was just a pretense to get us to lower our defenses? So you could end this war by killing us? Well, it didn’t work. Now, look over at your son.”
Jean closed her eyes and shook her head. She was still cradling her stomach, praying for a miracle that would never come.
Bill went around her and yanked at her hair, forcing her to look at young Seth.
I rushed over to my Seth’s side and pulled him to me.
“Don’t look,” I told him. But Seth pushed away.
“Hey, Seth,” Bill called over to young Seth. “Say goodbye to your mommy.”
Jean kept telling her son that she loved him over and over again. Young Seth was crying, and trying to pull away from the twins, both of who were laughing. Bill just smiled one more time before he sent thousands of volts through Jean Connor, killing her.
Young Seth screamed.
As the twins pulled young Seth away, the memory faded.
We were still in the dream state, but back in the room in Varick’s home. The fire glowed in the background as Seth cried.
“Seth,” I tried to help him. “Let’s take a break.”
“No,” he told me. “I want to show you. You need to see this.”
Before I could say anything else, a new memory formed around us.
We were in a place I recognized—the sub-terrain basement where we had rescued Seth. Sapphire and I glanced around for our Seth. He was standing by his younger self. Young Seth was tied up and gagged now, sitting in a chair where he could hear and see everything, but do nothing.
Next to him were two men, who were also both tied up. One was old and frail. He was dressed in a raggedy pair of overalls and a bloody white t-shirt. The other man was much younger; he looked like a college kid who came home and got jumped before he could go back to school. He was unconscious, bleeding from his forehead and his left leg.
On the floor was a huge chunk of ice. Another one of the men I’d seen in my vision stood over it, laughing.
“How long ago did I freeze this moron?” he asked.
“About ten minutes longer than the last time you asked,” one of the twins said. “Want me to thaw him out?”
Jake stepped forward and aimed his hands, which were already lit with flames, but Jack stopped him.
“Man,” Jack said. “Melting him will take forever. Let me do it.” Jack aimed his hand and tilted his head, as if he was studying a painting. “The trick is to aim for the middle of the mass. In your head you have to picture the inside of the block of ice.”
There was a huge bang, and the ice shattered. I watched as the boy – it was Matthew – skidded across the floor. He was still and silent, his body broken. Ice was still attached to parts of his face and arms and legs.
“You missed some,” Jake said, stepping forward.
Just as Matthew started to open his eyes, Jake lit him up and Matthew’s screams filled the air. He burnt for a few minutes before a different man came forward and tossed water from a bucket onto him. He too had been in my vision.
“You guys are unreal,” this man said. “Dan, that’s the third time you’ve frozen him. Give the kid a break.”
“Don’t be such a loser, Cam,” Jack said. “We’re just having fun. You’re just jealous because your passive power can’t hurt him. Look, he’s healing already. I know Vicky’d rather keep little one, but she can’t kill this guy. Unless she and Dave decide they want more than one.”
“No,” a woman’s voice commanded. “Just the one.”
Victoria walked in, wearing black jeans and a matching blouse. She was thin, athletically built. Long jet black hair framed a well-defined face. Her eyes were a frosty blue and were narrowed as she glared at everyone in the room. It didn’t look like she’d gotten either the tattoo or the nose piercing that I saw in the more recent vision. She might have been beautiful if not for the hard, sadistic look on her face which seemed to always sneer, getting a hint of a smile only when she looked at Seth, who was bound to a chair and terrified. She was flanked by the last man from the group in my vision. I assumed this was Dave. He was tall, broad, and built like a rock. He reminded me of Toby, minus the puppy dog personality.
“Where is everyone else?” Cam asked.
Dave held out his enormous arms to indicate the group of them.
“This is it.” He sneered at the shocked looks on everyone’s faces. “What? Did you think they wouldn’t fight back? We just tracked the last of them. All that are left of the Connors are right here in this room. And we’re all that’s left of the Shaws.”
Jack, Jake, Cam and Bill glanced around at the Connors. Jack walked over to Matthew, who was still lying on the ground, and started to kick at him savagely. I could hear his ribs cracking wi
th every blow. Cam pulled him back.
“Cam, what are you doing?” Jack fought to get free. “Didn’t you hear? They killed everyone in our family.”
I noticed a knowing glance pass between Victoria and Dave that made me wonder how many members of the Shaw family had died by their own hand.
“Yeah,” Cam said. “Because we killed everyone in theirs.”
“We did what we had to do,” Victoria said. ”I had on good authority that they were going to move on us.”
“Yeah?” Cam said. “So I’ve been told. What authority is that?”
Victoria arched an eyebrow at Cam. “James saw it in a dream.”
Cam looked liked he didn’t fully believe her, but he held his tongue.
“Look,” Victoria continued. “What’s done is done. We’re the winning side, but we have to keep one of them alive.”
“Why?” Jake asked. “You haven’t explained that to us. Why can’t we just kill them all off at this point? I’ll be happy to take care of it. I’ll even burn this one,” He kicked at Matthew again, “until he’s nothing but a pile of ashes. Bet even he can’t heal from that.”
Victoria looked impatient. I don’t think the idea that they had just killed however many people, including small children, bothered her in the least. I could see she had no sympathy for Seth or his few remaining family members in this room, but she didn’t liked to be questioned.
“Our fates are tied together,” Victoria said. “Our families are locked in combat, forever. I’ve spoken with the creatures who gave us our abilities. If we kill them all, first we’ll lose our powers. Possibly our lives.”
The room exploded in shouts as everyone tried to argue with Victoria. Nobody else that had survived had spoken to the creatures. I watched my Seth very closely as he examined poor Matthew on the floor.
Matthew looked exhausted. I didn’t know how much more the poor boy could take.
“Enough,” Victoria held up a hand. “This debate is over. You want to know why I didn’t let you in on our little plan? You would have fought against this. The rest of us made our choices a long time ago. We gave into the darkness within us, and we’re stronger for it. It’s time for you to decide. Your enemy is helpless before you. Kill him.”
Or else, her voice implied.
Victoria pointed towards the two men next to Seth.
Cam regarded them with mild concern. He walked towards the younger man, and took out a knife from his pocket. I fully expected him to stab the young man, but instead Cam went behind him and cut his arms free.
Jake and Jack both moved forward to stop him, but he warned them off.
“Think I’m helpless?” Cam snarled at the twins. “That my power is passive?”
Cam then placed the knife in the young man’s lap before he started to gently slap his face. “Hey, Sammy. Wake up. I got something to show you.”
Slowly, the young man named Sammy Connor seemed to stir. He looked around for a few minutes as if he were alone.
“Hey,” Sammy called. “Is anyone there? Is there anyone—”
Sammy stopped talking when he saw the old man. I watched as terror crossed his face until he started screaming.
“What are you?” Sammy shrieked. “Get away from me! I won’t let you eat me!”
The old man struggled to yell, but he was gagged, bound and helpless. He watched as Sammy finally noticed the sharp knife in his lap. The old man’s eyes filled with horror as Sammy held up the knife.
I ran over to my Seth and turned us both away from the carnage that was taking place. But I saw that young Seth had watched, and had seen everything, screaming against his own gag.
I looked over at the Shaws. Some of them were impressed, while Jack and Jake just looked amused.
Cam closed his eyes. Sammy suddenly dropped the knife.
“Grandpa?” Sammy screamed. The illusion had faded. The poor man had realized he had just stabbed his own grandfather to death. He was sobbing so hard, he never saw Dan come up behind him at Victoria’s urging, and press a finger to Sammy’s head.
Sammy’s expression turned into wide-eyed shock as his head turned to ice. Steam rose off of the now-frozen man. With a small shove, Dan tipped him over. Sammy’s head exploded as it crashed to the floor.
The twins actually applauded, at least until Victoria ordered them to clean up the mess. Then they grumbled, but dragged the two bodies out of the room, making the others promise to not do anything else until they were done.
I turned to my Seth. “We should take a break. You’ve seen enough.”
Seth shook his head. “Not as much as Matthew,” he said. “I’d almost forgotten. I wanted to forget.”
He broke away from me and walked over to the teen boy, who was lying on the floor. “I’m sorry, Matthew.”
I went over to Seth and pulled him into a hug.
“It’s almost over,” he mumbled.
I looked up as Jack and Jake came back in.
“Okay,” Jake said. “So who wants to kill the kid? I say we roast him alive.”
Young Seth closed his eyes. I just knew that he was praying that whatever they did to him, it would be fast and painless.
“I’d rather keep him alive,” Victoria said. “He’d be easier to control. The old man wouldn’t have lasted long. Sammy was young and strong. He didn’t have any abilities, but he could have escaped. Or died trying. We need just one. And we need them to hate us. And we all have to hate them. The kid is the best bet to control.”
But Jack just shook his head.
“He might be,” Jack said. “But this one doesn’t die. We’ve done everything. I’m happy to keep trying, but if you really want Jake to roast him to ash, I suggest we do it outside. Then maybe collect the ashes and scatter them.”
“No,” Jake said. “I want to keep Matthew here alive. He’s fun. But we’ll have to be careful with the kid. Feed him. Keep him from getting sick. Come on, I want to fry the kid. I’ll start with his toes and—”
Before he could continue, Matthew jumped off the ground, grabbing the knife Sammy had used to kill his grandfather and putting it to Jack’s throat. Matthew grabbed Jack’s hair and pulled his head back, exposing Jack’s neck, just like Seth’s mother had done.
“Let Seth go,” Matthew demanded. “You!” He pointed towards Cam. “Untie him and let him go. When he’s gone, I’ll leave. We’ll be out there, alive. You’ll all be fine. But you let him go.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“Not going to happen,” Victoria said. “Just put that knife down.”
Matthew laughed.
“Or what? You’ll kill me? You’ve tried over and over again. Now let Seth—” Matthew stopped talking, and pressed the tip of the knife even deeper against Jack’s neck. Blood dripped down.
“It’s not going to work,” Matthew announced. I realized Cam had used his ability to make it dark for Matthew. Dave started to move to get behind Matthew, who couldn’t see what was going on. “I may not be able to see you, but I’m not going to fall for any illusion. I’m not letting go of Jack until Seth is safe. Then we can—”
Matthew screamed a thousand screams all at once. The knife fell to the floor alongside of Matthew as he convulsed and writhed in agony worse than anything I’d ever seen before.
Slowly, the spasms ebbed. Matthew lay on the floor in a fetal position, his eyes open in shock.
“Pretty neat,” Dave said, leaning over the teen. “Isn’t it? I was really curious what that would be like with you. You see, my ability is to give you your own pain. I can reach inside of you and take every pain you’ve ever felt and make it radiate through you all at once. Every stubbed toe, every migraine headache, every broken bone and really bad sunburn. It’s normally more than anyone can stand. But with you? Oh man,” Dave said as he smiled. He seemed giddy over the experience. “That was awesome. The agony you’ve felt just today is more than most people feel in their lifetimes.”
Dave headed towards young Seth. I wanted to
leap back into time and stop him, but I had to remember that this was just a memory. Everything I was seeing had already happened.
“Sapphire,” I called. “Please end this. We’ve seen enough. We don’t have to—”
“No,” my Seth said. He was crying, but determined to see this through. “You need to see how it ends. It’s important. Just watch. Please.”
“Of course,” Dave was saying, “I don’t just have to use your own pain. I can also share pain. I had a favorite. This old man that I once did that to just to see how bad it was. It was pretty bad, what he’d seen through his life. He was eighty seven years old. That’s a whole lifetime of pain. But yours? Matthew, yours was just beautiful. Let’s see how the little guy likes it.”
Dave quickly pulled out young Seth’s gag and then he touched Seth’s right temple. The shriek of agony that escaped from Seth nearly made me retch. Young Seth bucked in his seat and began convulsing, as Dave smiled.
I turned away and I locked my eyes on Victoria who was grinned. She was to blame for this, more than even the twins. I hated her beyond any hatred I’d ever felt before.
Victoria signaled Jake and Jack to pick Matthew up. When he was facing her, she smiled.
“I could spare you,” she told Matthew. “Or not. But if I kill you, it won’t be an easy death. I can promise you that. You’ve earned the right to decide. Do you want me to kill you? Or kill the boy? Choose now, or I’ll choose for you.”
Matthew didn’t hesitate. “Kill me. Please don’t hurt Seth. He can’t do anything. He’s just a kid. Please.”
Victoria nodded, a look of sadistic sympathy displayed across her face.
“Wait,” Matthew said. “Let me say goodbye to him. Please?”
Victoria froze; her hand just in front of Matthew’s chest. She rolled her eyes, but nodded.
The twins dragged Matthew over to young Seth. My Seth pulled away and walked closer so he wouldn’t miss a single word. I followed.
“Hey, Seth,” Matthew said to the little boy. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do better. I’m so sorry. But you have to promise me you’ll never give up. I believe you’ll have a better life someday. That would make this all worth it to me. Be happy. Find a new home, and a family. Get a dog like you always wanted. Just find a way to be happy someday. For me, okay?”
Vision of Sacrifices Page 19